TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced the multimillion dollar resolution of a lawsuit against several related unsecured loan services companies and operators. The three consent judgments and one settlement agreement obtained by Attorney General Bondi’s Office resolve allegations that the defendant companies and their principals unlawfully charged cash-strapped consumers fees ranging from $500 to more than $1,000 for online lending services that consumers could perform on their own for free. The defendants allegedly convinced consumers to pay illegal up-front fees by falsely guaranteeing that a lender in the defendants’ lender network had pre-approved the consumers for loans.

“This result will provide full restitution to consumers victimized by this fraudulent loan scheme and ensure no more consumers are harmed by these unscrupulous practices,” said Attorney General Bondi.

The settlement and consent judgments successfully conclude a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office in 2015 against three related loan service companies and three individuals. According to the complaint, the defendants employed deceptive marketing practices and sales pitches rife with false statements and misrepresentations regarding the defendants’ loan services. Some of the defendants also allegedly used consumers’ bank information to withdraw funds from the consumers’ bank accounts without authorization.

As part of the resolution, the defendants are banned from operating in the loan and credit services industries. Together, the consent judgmentsimpose a more than $8 million judgment against the companies. Pursuant to these judgments, the individual defendants are required to make payments that will result in full refunds to consumers who have submitted complaints against the companies. Once full restitution is made, the remainder of the judgments will be suspended. However, if the individual defendants are found to have misrepresented their financial condition or failed to comply with the occupational bans, the full judgment will become due immediately.